Creed III / YMMV - TV Tropes

Accidental Aesop: While the main lesson one is intended to take away from this movie is that you can't run from your past forever and eventually you have to face it head-on and try to live the rest of your life with it as best you can, the circumstances between Adonis and Damian that landed both of them in hot waters could also present another lesson: just because you have a close bond with someone or feel that you have an obligation to them doesn't mean you always have to cover for them if doing so will put you or someone else in trouble as well. In the backstory, Damian went to jail for twenty years for pulling out a gun to try to protect Adonis after the latter assaulted their former abusive caretaker impulsively. And in the present, Adonis - who's still feeling guilty for the whole thing - does whatever he could to try to give Damian what he wants despite strong objections from his gym coach, who rightfully points out that Damian has a chip up his shoulder and that he's a danger to other fighters, which leads to disastrous results that ends with Adonis's protégé losing his world champion title and ending up in a hospital. Also sometimes despite how close you might have been as friends in the past, doesn't mean the friend you had in the past is the same person now. Likewise some friends change for the worst and will use you for their own selfish gain.
Alternative Character Interpretation: Who is the real villain?
- Is Damian really a malicious, conniving False Friend who is putting on a facade just to wreak havoc in the life of a former friend? Or is he merely doing what he has to in the morally grey world of pro boxing in order to get reparations for what was unjustly taken from him and achieve his dream in the narrow window he can still compete? The film downplays his Face–Heel Turn: in the title fight with Felix the ref makes a point of emphasizing that each fighter must protect himself at all times, minimizing the wrongness of Damian's dirty fighting and treating his actions as wrong but not worthy of disqualification. Indeed, a non-boxing fan might find it hard to understand why Damian's actions are worse than standard fighting - there are no blatant low blows or late shots, and that elbow strike could conceivably have been an accident. Damian also does not kill Adonis's friend in the ring (unlike analogue Ivan Drago), is mostly respectful towards his family (unlike analogue Clubber Lang, who makes sexually inappropriate comments about Rocky's wife), and fights cleanly in their final brawl.
- On the other hand, is Adonis merely a Designated Hero who is sympathetic mainly because he spends a healthy dollop of screentime with a cute daughter and eventually apologizes for not checking on Damian in prison? Is he, in fact, a villain who assaulted a man (who, granted, is an Asshole Victim) and ran from the legal consequences when taking responsibility could conceivably have reduced his protector's unjust and lengthy prison sentence? Did he then betray his mentee Felix by luring him into danger others were rightly warning against just to appease his own rightfully guilty conscience? On another hand, his adoptive mother Mary Anne's actions also play a large part in Adonis not even realizing that Damian was reaching out for him from within the jail. While Adonis does acknowledge that he should've done better to check in on Dame regardless of Mary Anne's actions, the fact is that Mary Anne hiding away Damian's letters from Adonis has, among other things, led to the whole situation that results in Viktor's injury and Felix's hospitalization, something that Adonis could've prevented had he have the knowledge of these letters beforehand.
Ensemble Dark Horse: Critics have singled out Mila Davis-Kent for praise for her relatively small role as Adonis's daughter, Amara.
Fan Nickname: Even with Rocky being absent from the film, fans still affectionately call it Rocky IX.
Harsher in Hindsight: Damian's resentment towards Creed stems from having to take the fall for Donnie for assaulting their abusive caretaker, resulting in his up-and-coming boxing career being cut short. A few months after the movie's release, Jonathan Majors was charged and convicted of assaulting his ex-girlfriend, an offence that would deal a heavy blow to his acting career.
Heartwarming Moments:
- Creed and Drago are shown to have become close friends following the events of the second film. Creed guided Drago into a successful career and towards another shot at the world championship title, and later Drago helps Creed get his fighting form back for the final bout against Anderson. Though it doesn't get much attention, their relationship is a nice bit of closure to the story arc that began with their fathers so many years ago.
  - Viktor saw his mom leave him twice. So imagine how much vindication he and his father must feel after Donnie has helped him become the contender he always was.
- Adonis' relationship with Amara is filled with these, especially how she has followed and studied her father's entire career and even wants to train to fight like him.
- Bianca and Mary Anne get along famously when they're together, which is often. After Mary Anne passes away, Bianca admits to Adonis that she thought of the woman as her own mother too.
- While its mixed with being a massive Tearjerker, a dying and delirious Mary Anne says to Donnie, whom she believes is her late husband Apollo, that taking in Donnie helped fill the void in her heart that her husband had created in his passing.
- Following the conclusion of their fight and Adonis reclaiming the world championship title, he and Dame are able to reconcile their differences and renew the old friendship they once had.
Jerkass Woobie: Damian may be the movie's antagonist and does all sorts of underhanded and sometimes illegal stuff in and out of the ring, but it's hard not to feel sorry for him. It is revealed that he spent almost 20 years in jail for a crime he didn't commit, as Donnie was the one who assaulted their abusive caretaker while Dame drew his gun to protect him. He had a promising career in boxing that was cut short due to having been arrested, and Donnie built a legacy for himself while seemingly forgetting about his friend. Indeed, Adonis wants to make amends with Damian even after all he's done, as he realizes that he has suffered a lot in life.
Memetic Mutation:
- Killmonger vs. Kang^Explanation
- "The Avengers are fucked." ^Explanation
Surprisingly Improved Sequel: While not necessarily considered a bad movie, Creed II was criticized for having a predicable plot and rehashing too many ideas from earlier Rocky installments, with the general consensus being that it failed to live up to its predecessor. Creed III, on the other hand, was widely praised for the dynamic between Adonis and Dame, as well as the addition of thriller elements to the typical sports drama formula. May count as an Even Better Sequel to those who actually liked the second movie.
Tear Jerker:
- Late in the film, a drunken Adonis and Bianca get into a big argument when Adonis just won't open up to Bianca about his shady past with Damian, even after that past is coming back to haunt him and those he cares for. As their fight becomes more heated, they notice that their daughter Amara is standing right there beside them - possibly the first time she witnesses her parents fighting. As Bianca goes to take Amara to bed and comfort her, Adonis ends up taking his anger out on the stuff lying on the table in front of him.
- Mary Anne dying after suffering a second stroke. The part that especially hits hard is that in her last moments, she was so delirious that she sees Adonis as her late husband Apollo and tells him how much he meant to her, while Adonis could only tearfully listen to his adopted mother's dying words while also feeling guilty about the harsh words he said to her before in an emotional outburst.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: The argument between Adonis and Mary Anne marks the first time that Apollo's other children have been directly mentioned since Rocky III, and Adonis recalls that they never accepted him since he was the product of their father's infidelity. Adonis' relationship with his older half-siblings could have made an interesting story in its own right, especially with the film's heavy focus on both family and forgiveness, but this throwaway line during his rant is the only time they're acknowledged in any way during either this film or the Creed trilogy as a whole. They don't even seem to appear at their mother's funeral.

YMMV / Creed III

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